Apparatus for handling, transporting, and cutting of still unhardened cellular lightweight concrete bodies

ABSTRACT

In manufacturing cellular lightweight concrete products a huge, flat, molded body of still unhardened, semi-plastic cellular concrete mass is transferred from a first support to a second support by an apparatus comprising a vertically and horizontally movable, frame-like body-gripping device rotatable about a horizontal axis, cutting of the body, and, if desired, planing of the top and bottom surfaces thereof, being effected during the transfer by means included in the apparatus. The worked body may be deposited on the second support in its original or in an upside down position.

United States Patent Giiransson Feb. 19, 1974 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING, [56] References Cited TRANSPORTING, AND CUTTING OF STILL UNITED STATES PATENTS UNHARDENED CELLULAR LIGHTWEIGHT 3,204,315 9/1965 Akerfors 83/65l.1 x CONCRETE BODIES 3,492,703 2/1970 Bergling et al 83/651.1 x

Inventor: Rolf Erik Giiransson, Akarp,

Sweden Internationella Siporex Aktiebolaget, Malmo, Sweden Filed: Aug. 28, 1972 Appl. No: 284,007

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 8, 1971 Sweden .1 11362/71 US. Cl 83/154, 83/282, 83/452, 83/277, 83/733, 83/651.1

Int. Cl B26d 7/06, B26d 5/20, B26d 7/02 Field of Search..... 83/154, 206, 267, 277, 281, 83/282, 733, 452, 651.1

Primary ExaminerWillie G. Abercrombie Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fred Philpitt [57] ABSTRACT In manufacturing cellular lightweight concrete products a huge, flat, molded body of still unhardened, semi-plastic cellular concrete mass is transferred from a first support to a second support by an apparatus comprising a vertically and horizontally movable, frame-like body-gripping device rotatable about a horizontal axis, cutting of the body, and, if desired, planing of the top and bottom surfaces thereof, being effected during the transfer by means included in the apparatus. The worked body may be deposited on the second support in its original or in an upside down position.

11 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEBJQIQH a 792 535 sum 1 0F 4 PATENIED FEB 1 91914 SHEET 2 BF 4 PATENTED FEB 1 91974 SHEET 3 OF 4 Hnv APPARATUS FOR HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, AND CUTTING OF STILL UNHARDENED CELLULAR LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE BODIES ln manufacturing cellular lightweight concrete products, such as building elements, it is common practice first to mold a large body of cellular concrete mass and then, while the cellular concrete mass is still in a semiplastic, unhardened condition, to cut this body into a plurality of smaller pieces corresponding to the desired products. The cast body is commonly given a size of 0.6 X 1.5 X 6.0 m or more and thus has the shape ofa large, long cake," which is very damageable because of the nature of the mass. The casting of the primary, large body is done preferably on a casting bed especially adapted for this purpose within a mold frame, the walls of which can be removed to uncover the cast body when the cellular concrete mass has solidified into a self-supporting consistency. The cutting of the semiplastic body in its turn is preferably carried out in a special cutting machine or apparatus, in which the body must rest on a different kind of support than that on which it was previously molded. The large and damageable body must then be moved from the casting bed to this different cutting bed.

Experience has shown that the transfer of the large cast body between the beds involves a great risk of the body being damaged through cracking. Furthermore, it has been found that the cracking, which can seriously jeopardize the possibilities of efficiently utilizing the cast body, is mainly caused by poor correspondence, in the first hand as far as flatness is concerned, between the casting bed and the cutting bed. The cause of this poor correspondence is, among other things, that the casting bed usually warps during the casting process and often is also subjected to mechanical deformation so that the bottom side of the cast body will become more or less askew and uneven, whereas the cutting bed on the other hand has better opportunities to maintain the good flatness, which was aimed at when it was constructed, and in any case cannot adapt itself to the irregularities of the cast body.

A long known measure to counteract the said transfer damages to the cast body consists in dividing the latter into a number of smaller blocks by some at least transversally extending so-called preventive cuts, already before depositing the body on the cutting bed. The smaller cast body parts thus obtained show a considerably less tendency to crack when being deposited on the cutting bed than the entire, huge cast body. The difficulty wiith this method is, however, to make the preventive cuts. Hitherto the latter have, as a rule, been made with the cast body still resting on the casting bed, but this is disadvantageous because the casting bed mostly does not permit a complete through-cutting of the cast body by means of the cutting wires normally used to make the preventive cuts. One possibility is, of course, to place a number of cutting wires in the mold formed by the casting bed and the mold frame already before the concrete mass is poured into this mold, and then, after the concrete mass has been cast and has solidified, to pull these cutting wires upwards in order to provide the desired preventive cuts, but even this is very unfavorable for several reasons, not the least because the preventive cuts thus made would not be sufficiently accurate to serve as product-confining cuts.

In certain cases it is also desirable to prepare the cast body more extensively before placing it on the cutting bed, such preparation including e.g. a planing of one or both of its broadsides and/or more far-reaching cutting of the cast body, which would make it possible to highly simplify, or in certain cases even eliminate the need for the beforementioned apparatus for final cutting up of the cast body.

The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which, on the one hand, serves as a means for transferring still semi-plastic cellular concrete bodies from a first bed, commonly the casting bed, to a second bed, commonly the cutting bed, and which, on the other hand, allows a convenient and in several respects favorable working of the fragile cast body during its transfer between the beds, which may render time savings as well as technical advantages in the production plant proper. The working in question comprises at least the accomplishment of preventive cuts, so that the risk of damaging the cast body in connection with its transfer is practically completely eliminated. A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the kind referred to, which allows the delivery of the transported and worked cast body to the receiving bed in an inverted position relative to its previous position on the casting bed, as this has in certain cases proved advantageous.

The apparatus according to the invention for handling, transporting and cutting of still unhardened cellular lightweight concrete bodies comprises a gripping device adapted to grip a cast cellular concrete body, which is resting flat on a first bed and from which the mold has been removed, by exerting a clamping action against two opposite side edge surfaces of said body, said gripping device being movable vertically as well as horizontally in order to transfer the gripped body to a second bed situated at a distance from said first one, and is generally characterized in that the gripping device is substantially in the form of an open, rectangular frame, the interior width of which is variable without steps within certain limits in order to provide for the clamping action that is required for gripping the body, and the height of which is less than the height of the body to be gripped, said frame being supported by a carrying device and rotatable at least relative thereto about an axis that is approximately horizontal and at least substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the frame.

For a better understanding of the invention two embodiments thereof and their mode of operation will be described in the following, reference being made therein to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, which are partially diagrammatic,

FIG. I is a cross sectional elevation of the first embodiment, the gripping device of the apparatus being in a position where it is ready to grip and lift away a cast body of semi-plastic cellular concrete from a casting bed,

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus with the gripping device in swung-up position and the cast body standing on edge,

FIG. 3 shows again in cross sectional elevation the same position as FIG. 2, but illustrates also a working operation including planing of the two broad-sides of the cast body,

FIG. 4 shows the next working step that includes cutting of the cast body in its transverse direction to make at least preventive cuts therein,

FIG. 5 illustrates the delivery ofthe worked cast body to a receiving bed, and

FIG. 6 illustrates the return of the gripping device to its initial position according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional elevation of the second embodiment, the gripping device being in a position where it is ready to grip and lift away a cast semi-plastic cellular concrete body from a first bed,

FIG. 8 shows, likewise in sectional elevation, how the gripped body is swung up to stand on edge during its transport by means of the apparatus so that it can be cut in the transverse direction,

FIG. 9 illustrates in a similar manner the cutting operation proper,

FIG. 10 shows, how the cut cast body is restored to a horizontal, lying position and is deposited on a second bed,

FIG. 11 is a side view of the apparatus with its gripping device in the position shown in FIG. 8, and

FIGS. 12A and 12B, respectively, show an end view of the gripping device proper and illustrate, how the framelike gripping device is provided with a long-side piece that can be swung away to thereby expose the cast body for vertical cutting in its edge-standing position.

The apparatus shown in FIGS. l-6 comprises primarily a gripping device that is generally designated by l and generally takes the form of an open, rectangular frame the longitudinal side wall members and the end wall members of which are, in this case, rigidly interconnected. In each one of the two longitudinal side wall members of the frame there is provided a number of pressure-fluid cylinders 2 co-operating with a clamping jaw 3 that is movable relative to the frame and has a number of spaced supporting blocks 4 on its inwardly facing side. By supplying fluid to the cylinders 2 the clamping jaws 3 with the supporting blocks 4 can be brought to engage two opposite sides of the cellular lightweight concrete body P to be gripped and handled. The cylinders 2 are preferably double-acting to provide a positive gripping operation as well as a positive release of the body P, when desired. The frame forming the gripping device has, as best appears from FIG. 2, an inner length exceeding the length of the body P, so that the ends of the body will be free during handling. Mounted in the end wall members of the frame are feeding screws 5 arranged for synchronous cooperation, said screws driving each one slide 6, see particularly FIGS. 2 and 6. Carried between these slides is a cutting frame 7 with cutting wires 8, which, in the respective end positions of the cutting frame, enter the interspaces between the supporting blocks 4 of the clamping jaws 3. The feeding screws 5 are driven by suitable motors 9 located in the frame forming the gripping device.

The frame-like gripping device 1 has on the outsides of its end wall members pivot pins 10, which are journalled in the outer ends of swingable arms 11, one for each pin. The pins 10 are provided with toothed wheels 12 co-operating with a pair of synchronously working motor drive mechanisms 13, by means of which the gripping device can be brought to rotate relative to the arms 11 about the horizontal axis formed by the pins 10. It should be noted that the swinging of the gripping device about the axis represented by the pins 10, which extends through the end wall members ofthe frame and passes at least in the proximity of the center of gravity ofthe gripping device as well as of the centre ofgravity of the body P carried thereby, is not absolutely necessary for the operation of the apparatus but makes it possible to perform some advantageous movements, as will appear from the following. The arms 11 are, in turn, rigidly connected to a horizontal shaft 14, which is carried by and journalled in a carrying device comprising, in the example shown, a pair of bearing brackets l5 fastened to a factory floor at some distance from one another. In many cases it may be advantageous, however, to mount these bearing brackets on a movable carriage instead of in fixed positions on the floor. Each arm 11 is rigidly connected to a toothed wheel 16 that is actuated by a motor-driven adjusting mechanism 17. The two mechanisms 17 are working synchronously and could, of course, like the two mechanisms 13, be replaced by one single but more powerful driving mechanism. The swinging movement of the gripping device 1 about the shaft 14 under the actuation of the mechanisms 17 is fundamental for the operation of the apparatus as far as the transportation of the body P between a first and a second bed is concerned. In the present case, the first bed is assumed to consist of a platform truck 18 which has served as a casting bed for the body and on which the body is delivered to the apparatus through moving of the truck along rails 19, while the second bed receiving the body P is represented by a belt conveyor 20 which, for instance, may form part ofa cutting machine for further cutting of the body.

The apparatus according to FIGS. 1-6 furthermore includes a suspended vehicle 21 movable along suspension-tracks 22 in the direction along the shaft 14 and above the bearing brackets 15. This vehicle 21 is bifurcated and provided on the inner sides of its two downwardly extending arms on the one hand with upper and lower brackets 23 having supporting wheels 24 arranged for co-operation with opposite sides of the longitudinal side wall members of the frame-like gripping device when the gripping device is placed on edge as shown in FIG. 3, and on the other hand with so-called planing devices 25, which according to the principle of planers or cutting mills can be brought to machine and plane the two broad-side surfaces of the carried body P. Various designs of such planing devices are well known in the cellular lightweight concrete industry, and further description would thus be unnecessary.

The apparatus now described is used as follows: When the platform truck 18 with the body P resting thereon has been moved ahead to the apparatus into a predetermined position, the gripping device 1 is lowered or swung down over the body P as shown in FIG. 1, the clamping jaws 3, of course, being retained in their most spaced apart positions. Then the two clamping jaws 3 are moved inwards towards the body P with such a force that the body is clamped without being damaged. The body is then lifted from the platform truck 18 by the gripping device 1 being swung upwards as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, and this is effected by swinging the arms 11 upwards under the actuation of their driving mechanisms 17. When the vertical or edge-standing position shown in FIG. 3 is reached, the suspended vehicle 21 is brought to pass in the longitudinal direction from a position outside the one bearing bracket to a position outside the other heating bracket 15 according to FIG. 2, whereby the body P carried by the gripping device 1 will be worked and planed on both its two broad-sides. With this process accomplished the feeding screws 5 in the gripping device are started so that the cutting frame 7 starts moving and effects a cutting up of the body P in its transverse direction. By this operation a number of very accurate cuts are provided, which may either merely serve as preventive cuts or may also represent all the transverse cuts that are needed to cut up the body P into building elements. When the cutting frame 7 has passed the body P in one direction, e.g. downwards as shown, the body P is ready for delivery to the receiving bed 20, and this is effected by swinging the gripping device further as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4 together with the arms 11 until the now worked body is in contact with the receiving bed as shown in FIG. 5. With the swinging movement of the gripping device thus accomplished, the clamping jaws 3 are again moved apart, so that the body P is released from the gripping device and the latter can be returned for taking care of another fresh body. During its return the gripping device 1 can be swung about the horizontal pins 10 according to FIG. 6 and thus be moved parallelly during the swinging movement of the arms 11, whereby the cutting frame 7 will again be in the same position as in FIG. 1 when the next body is to be handled, without the need of operating the feeding screws 5, which results in a considerable time saving, as the feeding of the cutting frame normally takes place at a very low speed.

Obviously, with the described operation of the appa ratus the body P will be delivered to the receiving bed 20 in an inverted position, which is often favorable. However, if this should not be desirable, it is also possible, thanks to the design of the apparatus, to deliver the worked body to the receiving bed with its original bottom side facing downwards, and this quite simply by bringing the gripping device to swing about the pins 10 at a suitable stage in the operation of the apparatus. Although the planing of the broad-sides of the body P in the example shown must be carried out with the body standing on edge as in FIG. 3, the cutting can, if so desired, take place in any position of the body and even during a suitable part of the swinging movement of the gripping device. The apparatus thus permits great variations as far as its mode of operation is concerned and, accordingly, it can meet even the most varying desires. Furthermore, it should be obvious to the man skilled in the art that the swinging of the gripping device about the primary swinging axis 14 on the one hand and about the pivot pins 10 which are parallel with said axis on the other hand makes it possible to pick up and deliver the body P at vertically spaced levels. In other words, it is not necessary, thanks to the double swinging possibility of the gripping device, that the receiving belt conveyor 20 has its top surface at the same level as the top surface of the truck 18 and at a predetermined level relative to the shaft 14. However, if such a limitation can be accepted together with the fact that the body is inverted, the described apparatus can, of course, be simplified by omitting the swingability of the gripping device about the pins 10 and instead connecting the gripping device rigidly to the arms 11.

The apparatus according to FIGS. 7-12 differs structurally from the previously described one in several respects, but nevertheless it operates on the same basic idea. In its illustrated form the variant does neither permit such an extensive working of the semi-plastic, un hardened cellular concrete body as the apparatus de scribed hereinbefore, but this is exclusively because of the fact that only a simplified form has been shown. The man skilled in the art and the machine designer will at once realize the possibilities of completing the apparatus for carrying out additional operations.

The variant apparatus shown in FIGS. 7-12 comprises, like the previously described type of apparatus, primarily a frame-like gripping device, generally desig nated by 31, which is rotatable about a horizontal axis extending through the end wall members of the framelike gripping device and substantially through the centre of gravity of the gripping device as well as of the cellular concrete body Pl carried thereby. The gripping device 31 is, furthermore, supported by a carrying device, which has in this case the form of a vehicle resembling a travelling crane and generally designated by 32, said vehicle suspended from and running along girders 33 fastened to a ceiling or on pillars. The girders 33 extend in the very direction in which the body PI is to be moved for being transferred from a first bed 34, such as a casting bed, to a second bed 35 (FIG. 10), eg a belt conveyor incorporated in a cutting machine for final cutting of the body. A suitable driving mechanism 36, for simplicity only indicated in FIG. 7, controls with required exactness the movements of the vehicle 32 along the girders 33.

The frame-like gripping device 31 is composed of two main components, viz. a rigid, U-shaped frame member 37, the bottom part of which constitutes the one longitudinal side wall member of the frame and has on its inner side a number of mutually spaced supporting blocks 38 and the shanks of which constitute the end wall members of the frame, said members having on their outer sides pivot pins 39, and a likewise rigid U-shaped frame member 40, the bottom part of which is a girder that forms the opposite longitudinal side wall member of the frame and the shanks of which constitute arms that are swingably mounted on the inner sides of the shanks of the frame member 37. The ends of the girder-like bottom part of the frame member 40 form protruding pins 41 which for positioning purposes co operate with a recess 42 in the end of each shank of the frame member 37, and the ends of the arms of the frame member 40 are swingable about pins 43, which are movable in slots 44 in the shanks of frame member 37 under the actuation of an adjusting mechanism 45, e.g. of the eccentric type, that can be operated either manually or by means of a suitable motor. As best appears from FIG. 12A and 128 the frame member 40 is adapted to assume an operative position (FIG. 12A) where the pins 41 are guided in the recesses 42 and the girder-like bottom part of the frame member 40 is movable towards and away from the bottom part of the frame member 37 under the actuation of the adjusting mechanism 45, so that the gripping device can be caused to grip the body Pl by exerting a clamping action against the longitudinal side edges thereof, or to release the body, as desired. When the pins 43 are moved maximally towards the free shank ends of the frame member 37, the frame member 40 can be released (FIG. 12B) and swung out laterally by a small angle, which is limited by stops (not shown). This possibility is utilized during the cutting of the body P1 in its edge-standing position, as will appear from the followmg.

The horizontal pivot pins 39 of the gripping device 31 are supported in slides 50 and 51, which are vertically movable in the downwardly directed side pieces of the carrying device 32 by means of feeding screws 52 synchronously driven by the drive mechanism 53. Accordingly, the gripping device 31 can be raised and lowered relative to the carrying device 32. The one pivot pin 39 of the gripping device 31 is also connected to a motordriven adjusting mechanism 54, which is attached to the one slide 51 and allows a controlled swinging of the gripping device about the horizontal pins 39. Accordingly, the gripping device can be brought to assume either a horizontally lying position or an edge-standing position and, when required, the gripping device can even be turned upside down. Connected to the carrying device 32 by means of links 55 is a horizontal cutting frame 56 having cutting wires 57 stretched therein. Thanks to the hinged links 55 the cutting frame 56 is swingable under the actuation of a cylinder 58 between an elevated, inoperative position, e.g. as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and a lowered, operative position as shown in FIG. 9. As an alternative, the cutting frame 56 could be rigidly connected to the carrying device 32, but the arrangement just described is more advantageous, because it reduces the required height of the carrying device as well as the vertical distance the body Pl has to be lifted when cutting is effected.

The apparatus according to FIGS. 7-12 is used in the following manner: According to FIG. 7 the carrying device 32 is brought in position above the bed 34 from which the semi-plastic cast cellular concrete body P1 is to be picked up, and the gripping device 31 is lowered vertically to the position shown, while the frame member 40 assumes such a position to the frame member 37 that the gripping device can pass freely down over the body. Now the frame member 40 is moved as previously described relative to the frame member 37, so that the body P1 is clamped and can be lifted from the bed 34. According to FIG. 8 the carrying device 32 is then preferably moved laterally a small distance and the gripping device is swung up into vertical position with the frame member 40 uppermost so that the body P1 is turned on edge and rests with its full weight on the frame member 37. Thereupon, the frame member 40 is swung aside as previously described, uncovering the upper edge surface of the body P1. At the same time the cutting frame 56 is swung down into its operative position and the feeding screws 52 are set to rotate in order to lift the gripping device 31 together with the body P1, which will thereby be cut transversally according to FIG. 9. The lifting of the gripping device and the body continues until the cutting wires 57 of the cutting frame have passed entirely through the body and entered into the interspaces between the supporting blocks 38, whereafter the gripping device is again lowered so that the cutting wires will pass inoperatively through the cuts just made in the body P1. When the gripping device is again in an elevated position corresponding to that shown in FIG. 8, the cutting frame 56 can be swung aside and the frame member 40 be restored into its previous position in order to again clamp the body P1 now cut-up, whereupon the gripping device and the body clamped therein can again be swung into horizontal position according to FIG. 10 and the cut-up body be delivered to the receiving bed 35, after the carrying device 32 has been moved to a position straight above that bed. It should be obvious, that the cut-up body P1 can be deposited on the receiving bed 35 either with its previous bottom side facing downward or in an inverted position, as desired. When the body delivered on the bed 35 has been released, the gripping device 31 is again lifted a small distance so as to go clear of the delivered body when the carrying device 32 is returned in order to pick up another cast cellular concrete body.

If a working of the broad-sides of the body P1 is desired in the apparatus according to FIGS. 712, such working can be effected by the aid of suitable planing means, such as screw cutters or planer knives, mounted along the longitudinal side pieces of the cutting frame 56, so that the said working will take place simultaneously with the cutting of the body, thus saving time. In a further thinkable modification of the apparatus according to FIGS. 7-12 the cutting frame 56 may, like the gripping device 31, be vertically movable relative to the carrying device 32 under the actuation of a separate feeding mechanism, so that it can be brought to meet the rising gripping device and the body carried thereby by descending during the cutting operation.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for lifting and cutting a generally parallel epipedic body of still unhardened cellular lightweight concrete mass that is resting on a supply bed which comprises in combination:

a. body gripping means comprising an open rectangular frame structure adapted to horizontally encircle said resting body to be cut and including means for exerting a clamping pressure against opposite longitudinal side surfaces of said body, said frame structure having a length exceeding that of said resting body, a maximum internal opening width that is greater than the width of said resting body, and a height when horizontally encircling the body which is less than the height of the rested body;

b. coaxially aligned pivot means at the respective ends of said frame structure and permitting rotation of said body gripping means about an axis extending longitudinally of said frame structure and at least approximately through the center of gravity of said body gripping means, when the latter is operative to grip said resting body;

c. carrier means including holding means connected to said pivot means and means for positively moving said holding means at least vertically for raising and lowering said body gripping means while maintaining a substantially horizontal position of said axis of rotation thereof;

d. means for changing the angular position of said body gripping means at least about said axis of rotation and for temporarily maintaining said body gripping means in at least one selected operative position thereof in which the gripped body is lifted away from its bed and tilted so as to rest with its one longitudinal side surface facing downwardly within said frame structure; and

e. cutting means operative to effect cutting of the body while the latter is maintained in said selected position by said body gripping means.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for exerting a clamping pressure against opposite longitudinal side surfaces of the body to be cut includes elongate jaw members movable towards and away from each other, at least one of said jaw members having a transversely grooved surface for engaging the body.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said jaw members are longitudinal side members of said frame structure.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame structure comprises a releasable longitudinal side member.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said frame structure comprises a first rigid yoke unit including the one longitudinal side member and the two end members of the frame and having said pivot members connected thereto, and a second yoke unit formed by the releasable longitudinal side member of the frame and a pair of legs rigidly connected thereto and having its ends swingably and displaceably connected to said end members forming part of said first yoke unit so as to permit swinging aside of said releasable longitudinal side member.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body gripping means includes a cutting frame having cutting wires stretched therein, said cutting frame extending longitudinally of said frame structure in a plane that is substantially at a right angle to the plane of said frame structure, and means for moving said cutting frame in the transverse direction of said frame structure between end positions, in which said cutting frame is entirely beyond the body to be cut when the latter is gripped in said frame structure.

7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said holding means connected to said pivot means corn prises slides displaceable in synchronism along vertically extending guides in said carrier means.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein said carrier means includes a substantially horizontal cutting frame having cutting wires stretched therein, said cutting frame movable between an inoperative position, in which it is out of the way of the rotating frame structure, and an operative position, in which the body to be out can be passed through it by vertical move ment of said body gripping means.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cutting means includes a rectangular cutting frame hav ing cutting wires stretched transversely therein, said cutting frame extending longitudinally of said frame structure and being movable inside the latter to effect cutting of the body.

10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said carrier means is formed as a horizontally movable vehicle.

11. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cutting means comprises means for planing the top and bottom surfaces of the body to be cut. 

1. An apparatus for lifting and cutting a generally parallel epipedic body of still unhardened cellular lightweight concrete mass that is resting on a supply bed which comprises in combination: a. body gripping means comprising an open rectangular frame structure adapted to horizontally encircle said resting body to be cut and including means for exerting a clamping pressure against opposite longitudinal side surfaces of said body, said frame structure having a length exceeding that of said resting body, a maximum internal opening width that is greater than the width of said resting body, and a height when horizontally encircling the body which is less than the height of the rested body; b. coaxially aligned pivot means at the respective ends of said frame structure and permitting rotation of said body gripping means about an axis extending longitudinally of said frame structure and at least approximately through the center of gravity of said body gripping means, when the latter is operative to grip said resting body; c. carrier means including holding means connected to said pivot means and means for positively moving said holding means at least verticalLy for raising and lowering said body gripping means while maintaining a substantially horizontal position of said axis of rotation thereof; d. means for changing the angular position of said body gripping means at least 90* about said axis of rotation and for temporarily maintaining said body gripping means in at least one selected operative position thereof in which the gripped body is lifted away from its bed and tilted so as to rest with its one longitudinal side surface facing downwardly within said frame structure; and e. cutting means operative to effect cutting of the body while the latter is maintained in said selected position by said body gripping means.
 2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for exerting a clamping pressure against opposite longitudinal side surfaces of the body to be cut includes elongate jaw members movable towards and away from each other, at least one of said jaw members having a transversely grooved surface for engaging the body.
 3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said jaw members are longitudinal side members of said frame structure.
 4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame structure comprises a releasable longitudinal side member.
 5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said frame structure comprises a first rigid yoke unit including the one longitudinal side member and the two end members of the frame and having said pivot members connected thereto, and a second yoke unit formed by the releasable longitudinal side member of the frame and a pair of legs rigidly connected thereto and having its ends swingably and displaceably connected to said end members forming part of said first yoke unit so as to permit swinging aside of said releasable longitudinal side member.
 6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body gripping means includes a cutting frame having cutting wires stretched therein, said cutting frame extending longitudinally of said frame structure in a plane that is substantially at a right angle to the plane of said frame structure, and means for moving said cutting frame in the transverse direction of said frame structure between end positions, in which said cutting frame is entirely beyond the body to be cut when the latter is gripped in said frame structure.
 7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said holding means connected to said pivot means comprises slides displaceable in synchronism along vertically extending guides in said carrier means.
 8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein said carrier means includes a substantially horizontal cutting frame having cutting wires stretched therein, said cutting frame movable between an inoperative position, in which it is out of the way of the rotating frame structure, and an operative position, in which the body to be cut can be passed through it by vertical movement of said body gripping means.
 9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cutting means includes a rectangular cutting frame having cutting wires stretched transversely therein, said cutting frame extending longitudinally of said frame structure and being movable inside the latter to effect cutting of the body.
 10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said carrier means is formed as a horizontally movable vehicle.
 11. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cutting means comprises means for planing the top and bottom surfaces of the body to be cut. 